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Asteroid Near-Earth

2008 EP

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(2008 EP)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.059 AU
True anomaly
174.1°
Distance from Earth
2.012 AU
As of
19 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Sun Earth — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 2008 EP — 1.059 AU from the Sun 2008 EP
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2008 EP is 2.012 AU from Earth today (16.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 50m 51s
Declination
-07° 54′ 45″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
2.01 AU
Elongation from the Sun
12.21° — too close to the Sun to observe

Visible from both hemispheres.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
0.843 AU
Eccentricity
0.2595
Inclination
15.84°
Orbital period
282.5 days
Perihelion
0.624 AU
Aphelion
1.061 AU
Longitude of ascending node
348.07°
Argument of periapsis
21.56°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 15.3 LD
0.0394 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.923

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
103
Data arc
17.01 years
First observed
2 March 2008
Last observed
6 March 2025
Residual RMS
0.38 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
6 March 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.31

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 63 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2008 EP at 2032-03-22 12:28 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2032-03-22 12:28 UTC close approach of 2008 EP. Catalogue miss distance 52.7 LD · 2.02 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2032-03-19 to 2032-03-25, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. At closest approach the object is south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 52.7 LD · 2.02 × 10⁷ km 2032-03-22 12:28 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2032-03-22 12:28 UTC close approach of 2008 EP. Catalogue miss distance 52.7 LD · 2.02 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2032-03-19 to 2032-03-25, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. At closest approach the object is south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2027-11-30 07:43:00 Venus 0.0936 AU 36.4 LD 14.1 km/s
2031-01-10 21:32:00 Venus 0.0872 AU 33.9 LD 12.5 km/s
2032-03-22 12:28:00 Earth 0.1354 AU 52.7 LD 9.1 km/s
2042-02-28 05:48:00 Earth 0.1263 AU 49.2 LD 11.6 km/s
2049-03-12 08:14:00 Earth 0.0756 AU 29.4 LD 9 km/s
2054-12-25 12:45:00 Venus 0.0909 AU 35.4 LD 14 km/s
2058-02-04 01:47:00 Venus 0.0859 AU 33.4 LD 12.5 km/s
2061-03-20 13:27:00 Venus 0.1458 AU 56.7 LD 12.4 km/s
2066-03-07 06:43:00 Earth 0.0435 AU 16.9 LD 9.2 km/s
2073-04-03 05:25:00 Earth 0.1932 AU 75.2 LD 9.8 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources